Central Foods has unveiled two new savory foodservice items aimed at consumers with certain dietary requirements. Menuserve brie and red onion tart is suitable for gluten-free and vegetarian diners, while Menuserve beetroot and thyme tarte tatin targets vegan and vegetarian customers – making them both ideal to meet growing demand for plant-based menu options.
“We are really pleased to launch these and extend our growing selection of pre-prepared, frozen items that are suitable for free-from diners, said Gordon Lauder, managing director of the Northamptonshire, England-based distribution company. “Along with the one in a hundred persons who are coeliac and need to avoid gluten in their diet for health reasons, there are many others who actively choose to avoid foods containing gluten.”
The Menuserve brie and red onion tart is a gluten-free cheddar and chive pastry filled with a brie and cheddar sauce and topped with a red onion compote. The Menuserve beetroot and thyme tarte tartin features balsamic roasted beetroot wedges and thyme on a crisp, puff pastry base.
Both items are premium products that suit the increasing demand in the foodservice sector for quality pre-prepared options that are not only suitable for those with dietary requirements, but which will also prove popular more generally – helping to avoid menu proliferation.
“Some 36% of meat eaters buy vegetarian and vegan products, and 23% of Brits eat gluten-free despite having no intolerance, according to Ubamarket, so it really does make commercial sense to add gluten-free, vegetarian and vegan products to menus,” said Lauder.
Central Foods supplies hundreds of different frozen lines to the UK foodservice and independent wholesale sectors. In addition to vegetarian and free-from items, products include meats, bakery goods, buffet specialties, desserts and puddings.
